Interesting article by Charlie Demerjian at SemiAccurate. The problem is that if you are locked in with a choice of 100% Microsoft or 0% Microsoft, once someone goes, it isn’t a baby step, they are gone. Once you start using Google Docs and the related suites, you have no need for Office. That means you, or likely your company, saves several hundred dollars a head. No need for Office means no need for Exchange. No... Continue reading

Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek on Tuesday raised his rating on RIM shares to “Hold” from “Underperform, based on reports that carrier interest in BB10 is actually pretty strong. "We have been surprised by the strongly positive initial feedback on BB10 from carriers," Misek wrote in a recent note to clients. "We are a bit puzzled as we expected a more muted response given BB10 is two years late and RIM’s market share has... Continue reading

It's just been announced that John Browett is leaving as head of Apple Retail. Browett, as you may recall, is the individual who reportedly tried to reduce headcounts at Apple retail stores, even, and I quote, "at the expense of user satisfaction." Before joining Apple, Browett was CEO of electronics retail group Dixons, a UK chain more than a little reviled for its lack of customer focus and service. Apple also announced that Scott Forstall... Continue reading

One thing everyone can agree on is that Microsoft has a lot of ground to make up in the tablet and mobile market. Apple, after all, has sold 100 million iPads in just over two years. But according to Craig Mundie, Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer, that's not entirely the company's fault. In an interview with the Spiegel, Mundie argues that the company's huge volume in desktop computing made it "basically the only target"... Continue reading

It's obvious that the bean-counters are back in charge at Apple. Back in the day, John Scully, John Louis Gassee, and others continually maintained that consumers would gladly pay a premium to own Apple computers. This despite the fact that Microsoft Windows-based PCs had, in many cases, already surpassed the capabilities of Apple's aging Macintosh lineup. And at far cheaper price points. Fast forward to today, where Phil Schiller is publicly defending the iPad mini's... Continue reading

As you may know, iOS 6 dropped support for the first-generation iPad (iPad 1), which was sold from spring 2010 through spring 2011. Marco Arment, creator of Instapaper, defends Apple on this, noting that the iPad had only 256MB of RAM on its A4 system-on-a-chip. He also notes that the iOS of the time was very different from that of today. ...when the iPad 1 was released with iOS 3.2 in early 2010, iOS was... Continue reading

According to Microsoft, Congress should invest $5 billion in the country's education system — particularly in math, science and technology education. "The U.S. needs to push more resources into science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education because technology companies are running into huge shortages of workers", said Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel and executive vice president. Fundamentally, I agree. The US needs to devote more resources to education. And especially in the fields of science,... Continue reading

Quote of the day... "Offering no clear benefits to users is the reason Apple didn’t put NFC into the iPhone 5..." ~ Darrell Etherington I'd actually say that NFC offers no clear benefits... yet. Just as the new Lightning plug offers no significant benefits (other than size) to the user... yet. But the adaptive cabling system used by Lightning looks like it will help to future-proof new devices and accessories. So in the same vein,... Continue reading

TUAW says it best, "In the uproar over iOS 6's move to Apple's homegrown Maps service, the driving theme is user frustration. Even the most ardent apologists have to acknowledge that Maps has serious issues, and the company's critics are having a field day." There are many reasons and claims as to why Apple did this to its customers. The Wall Street Journal, for one, blames Google, claiming that Google was unwilling to license turn-by-turn... Continue reading

There's been a lot of speculation regarding the new 9-pin connector that's rumored to be part of the new iPhone, iPods, and iPads. Just for fun, I'm going to go out and stake my claims as to what's true, and what's not. 1) Nine pin connector? True. Or, rather, an eight-pin connector, with the large enternal shield the 9th "ground" pin. So, nine connections, total. 2) Reversible? True. Apple is about redesigning and streamlining the... Continue reading

In addition to making a play for Android developers, Amazon has apparently fired another shot off Googles bow, switching the Silk browser's default search engine from Google to Bing. They're also using the Fire's "lock" screen and screensaver to display ads and special offers on Kindle products. Developers? Search? Ads? Amazon is hitting Google pretty hard, in ways that are especially ironic since Google developed the core Android system on which the new Fire is... Continue reading

Amazon unveiled two new Kindle Fires today, adding 7-inch HD and 8.9-inch HD versions alongside a revamped version of the original tablet. Amazon will offer a 16GB version of the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD for $199 and a 16GB, 8.9-inch version for $299. The revamped Fire drops to $159. The retailer will also sell a 32GB Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE connectivity for $499. Those who spring for the 4G LTE version of the... Continue reading

"There will be no banner ads on the Google homepage or web search results pages. There will not be crazy, flashy, graphical doodads flying and popping up all over the Google site. Ever." ~ December 22, 2005 - Marissa Mayer, VP of Search Products & User Experience Enough said. [Google Statement] Continue reading

John Gruber over at Daring Fireball lists his reasons why he thinks we won't see the new iPad mini launch during the upcoming iPhone event on September 12th. The problem that occurred to me: I don’t think Apple would want reviews of both a new iPhone and new-size iPad appearing at the same time. Why share the spotlight? Why have another Apple product battling with the iPhone for the top spots in news coverage? But... Continue reading

Today, RIM's stock price fell below $10 for the first time in nearly a decade, tumbling 6.53 percent to $9.57. Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair says it best. "We don't see any scenario where BlackBerry 10 can compete meaningfully against the three major smartphone operating systems." "Our longer term view remains that RIM will be forced to focus on the low-end, developing market segment, as we believe that remains the only available opportunity for the... Continue reading

Conventional wisdom has it that Apple must make an iPhone with a larger screen. And conventional wisdom also has it that a 16x9 phone would be easiest for developers to support.
But conventional wisdom, applied to Apple, is often the fastest way to go wrong. Continue reading

According to The Globe and Mail, RIM will soon announce another major global restructuring that will include “at least” 2,000 layoffs, taking RIM's employee base from 16,500 to 14,500.
This would be the second round of cuts in less than a year, as the struggling BlackBerry smartphone maker sacked 10 percent of its global workforce last July.
CEO Thorsten Heins has a problem. He thinks RIM is in the handset business. They're not. Continue reading

The following comment was made to an article by Jim Dalrymple on the question of whether or not Apple should market a 7 inch iPad. "Asking whether there is a market for something is the wrong question and it's going to lead you to the wrong answer. Asking whether a 7 inch iPad will provide a better user experience than a 10 inch iPad is a better question." There's little doubt that user experience on... Continue reading

The Wall Stree Journal just reported that RIM's executive vice president of global sales, Patrick Spence, has resigned. According to a statement issued by company representatives, Spence will be "taking a leadership position in a different industry," though no further insight was provided. In the interim, RIM's CEO Thorsten Heins will absorb the role's responsibilities and pass them on to the company's new COO, Kristian Tear, when he starts later this year. Earlier this month... Continue reading

Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) spoke on the Senate floor earlier this week about the cyber-security legislation being debated by the Senate and Congress.
To quote, "I believe these bills will encourage the development of a cyber security industry that profits from fear and whose currency is Americans private data. These bills create a Cyber Industrial Complex that has an interest in preserving the problem to which it is the solution."
And based on the military and defense contractors already lobbying for the bill, it would seem that his fears are justified. Continue reading

There's little doubt that Apple's next iPhone will have a larger screen. According to the rumor mill, one of the handsets being tested is said to feature a 3.95-inch widescreen display with a 640 x 1136 resolution. That’s about 0.45 inches taller than the 3.5-inch, 640 x 960 display currently used in the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4. But regardless of the actual specifications, it's fairly obvious that existing applications will need to updated... Continue reading

What a surprise: The U.K. government was forced to reveal under Freedom of Information laws more than 1,000 civil servants have ’snooped’ on British citizens’ private data.
This story comes to light just after the Queen formally announced just weeks ago the U.K. government will monitor all Web and email traffic, and log all landline, mobile phone, and Skype calls.
And yet we have CISPA. Continue reading

Perhaps you've heard about Adobe's new Creative Cloud subscription service. Pay $49.95 a month, and you gain access to every product in Adobe's creative suite, plus access to Adobe's new cloud services. Existing CS owners pay just $29.95 a month. It's a good deal, especially if you're a professional and use Adobe's products on a daily basis. Which I am, and do. So, yesterday I signed up, paid, and then downloaded a few applications. Today,... Continue reading